Rural America, bless its heart, has been blamed for many things in education. The wide open spaces, lack of cultural diversity, and comparatively downbeat social scene have made it difficult to attract qualified staff and keep them. Economies of scale make the buying power weaker in rural areas, which are defined as any town with fewer than 25,000 people and a good distance from any major city.

And though they educate more than 40 percent of the country’s students, rural school districts receive about half that amount from the federal government. Where’s the love?

Now comes one more challenge. In the September issue of Obesity Research, university researchers found that kids in rural areas were more likely to have weight issues than city kids. Go figure. The study used data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, identifying 46,000 youngsters who were at 5 and older. Of that group, almost 18,000 or 18 percent were overweight or obese, and from that group, researchers determined rural kids were 25 percent more likely to have weight problems than their city counterparts.

What gives? “We don’t know the reasons why,” the study’s co-author Dr. Martin Lipsky told the Rockford Register Star. “Rural children may have less access to healthier foods … they may lack diversity in fresh fruits and vegetables … sometimes there is less opportunity for physical activity like sports, a sidewalk to walk on or even having a park.”

Well, there may be some other indicators. The study also found that rural overweight children were also more likely live in homes well below the poverty line, to not have access to healthcare, and to use the computer for non-school work and watch television for more than three hours a day.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor